Hiring remote developers has become a common practice, allowing companies to tap into talent worldwide. While the advantages are numerous, from cost savings to flexibility, there are also specific challenges that companies must address to build and manage a remote development team successfully.
In this blog, we'll explore the seven critical challenges in hiring remote developers and how to overcome them.
7 Main Challenges You Can Face When Hire Remote Developers
Here are seven challenges to hire remote software developers and how to mitigate these remote hiring risks:
Remote Hiring Challenge 1 - Time Zone Differences
One of the most significant challenges when hiring remote developers is time zone differences. These differences can create challenges in coordinating interviews and conducting real-time assessments.
Time zone variances can result in the following issues –
- Scheduling conflicts
- Delayed responses
- Missed opportunities for real-time interactions
- Prolonged recruitment timelines
- Increased administrative burden
- Disturbed flow of communication
- Ineffective collaboration
- Potential frustration for both hiring managers and candidates
Causes of this Challenge:
Candidates and hiring managers often reside in different regions with varying time zones, which can lead to challenges in remote hiring. Coordinating interview schedules can become quite tricky as a result.
Additionally, differences in daylight saving time and cultural preferences further complicate the management of these time zone discrepancies.
How to Overcome?
To mitigate this challenge, you should hire remote software developers from a reliable IT staff augmentation service provider like VLink. They will help you get remote access to the top 3% of software engineers.
Here are three effective strategies to mitigate the time zone difference challenge:
- Overlap working hours: Ensure that remote developers and in-house teams have a few hours of overlap daily for essential communication.
- Set clear expectations: Use collaborative tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams to establish communication norms and ensure asynchronous communication is clear and compelling.
- Hire within compatible time zones: For critical projects requiring constant communication, hire developers who are closer to your time zone or can work during your business hours.
You can also know about top 10 countries for hiring best remote software developers in your local zone.
Remote Hiring Challenge 2 - Vetting and skillset evaluation
Selecting candidates with job-specific skills, regardless of position, is another challenge you can face during remote hiring. A proper evaluation of skillset, experience, and expertise is essential to hire a remote developer.
33.1% of hiring managers said they need help finding the best developers in a remote environment.
Causes of this Challenge:
This remote hiring challenge arises from the limitations of virtual interactions, which can hinder the assessment of various candidate attributes, such as:
- Personalities of the candidates
- Communication styles
- Working habits
Additionally, the lack of physical cues and environmental context complicates the evaluation process. As a result, hiring managers may struggle to accurately assess candidates' soft skills and cultural fit when hiring remote employees.
How to Overcome?
Here are three strategies to mitigate this remote hiring challenge:
- Pre-screen candidates: Contact a reliable IT staff augmentation company like VLink. They will help you find and hire pre-screened talent from the top 3% of remote developers, ensuring you only interview candidates with verified skill sets.
- Technical tests: Conduct coding tests via platforms like HackerRank or Codility to remotely assess developers' technical skills.
- Structured interviews: Implement structured technical interviews, either live or recorded, to evaluate problem-solving abilities and technical knowledge.
Remote Hiring Challenge 3 - Assessing Soft Skills Remotely
Project accomplishment and business growth strongly rely on having a qualified remote development team with expertise in the tech stack. Hiring one candidate lacking soft skills might not allow them to communicate well with their team. This results in discrepancies in assigned tasks, contributing to a much bigger problem.
So, assessing soft skills remotely is another challenge you can face when hiring remote developers.
Causes of this Challenge:
Assessing soft skills remotely presents a unique challenge due to the lack of in-person interactions that typically help gauge qualities like communication, teamwork, and emotional intelligence. Evaluating non-verbal behaviors such as body language without face-to-face cues is more complex. It often provides insight into a candidate's interpersonal skills.
Additionally, virtual environments can limit the ability to observe how candidates handle real-time collaboration or respond to dynamic social situations. These factors, combined with potential technical issues or discomfort with digital tools. They can lead to an incomplete or skewed assessment of a candidate's accurate soft skills during remote hiring.
How to Overcome Them?
Here are two tips to mitigate this challenge:
Soft Skills Assessment Test
Skills assessments are an excellent way to assign a qualitative or quantitative value to a person's job performance. Soft skills tests can be leveraged to quickly gauge and evaluate a candidate's interpersonal abilities.
These assessments are enjoyable and engaging for candidates and can be completed at their convenience. For recruiters, they offer valuable insights into how individuals perform while enabling the simultaneous evaluation of multiple candidates, ultimately saving time.
Reference Check
Colleagues who have worked closely with a candidate can often offer the best insights into their soft skills. If reference checks are part of your hiring process, utilize them effectively.
Ask former coworkers about the soft skills the candidate displayed in the workplace. The feedback you receive during these conversations will often give you valuable information to dig deeper and make a well-informed hiring decision.
It's very challenging and time-consuming. But when you contact a reliable IT staff augmentation company, you don't have to worry about these procedures. They will take care of all processes during pre-vetting and remote hiring.
Remote Hiring Challenge 4 - Onboarding difficulties
Onboarding is another challenge you can face when hiring a remote software developer. You may observe lower productivity as the new employees struggle to understand the workflows. According to research, newly hired employees have approximately 25% productivity monthly after training.
Causes of this Challenge:
Virtual onboarding may feel impersonal, making it harder for remote hires to understand the company culture, processes, and tools and to integrate smoothly into the team.
How to Overcome?
Develop a comprehensive remote onboarding plan with clear documentation, video tutorials, and virtual orientations. Assign a mentor or buddy to guide new hires through the first few weeks. Use tools like Zoom, Loom, and Slack for better communication.
But a reliable IT staff augmentation service provider can help you onboard remotely within 48 hours.
Remote Hiring Challenge 5 - Maintaining Team Cohesion
Building a cohesive remote team requires proactive efforts to ensure that all members, regardless of location, feel connected and part of a larger community. Without casual in-person interactions and social bonding activities, team members may experience a sense of isolation.
As team cohesion grows, the benefits become more apparent. Fostering a strong sense of unity enhances collaboration and provides managers and team leaders with opportunities to improve their leadership and management skills. It encourages innovative thinking and deepens their understanding of how to facilitate effective teamwork.
Causes of this Challenge:
Remote work can foster a sense of isolation, leading to disconnection from team culture and a lack of camaraderie. It can result in misalignment with team goals and a drop in morale.
How to Overcome?
To mitigate this remote hiring challenge, it would help if you fostered strong connections among team members. Virtual team-building activities are vital in boosting morale and self-esteem while encouraging members to build meaningful relationships that support overall team success.
Additionally, offering training and development opportunities empowers team members to take ownership of their skills, boosting their confidence and improving job performance. Conflict, when handled constructively, is a sign of a healthy team. Disputes should be resolved swiftly, with external help, to maintain harmony without forcing agreement.
Lastly, team members must understand and align with the company's values and goals. Defining the team's purpose and objectives from the start ensures a shared sense of direction and fosters a more profound commitment to achieving success together.
Remote Hiring Challenge 6 - Legal Issues
Legal issues are another challenge you can face when hiring remote developers. These issues include taxes, contracts, global transactions, and harassment.
Causes of this Challenge:
Hiring remote developers across borders involves navigating complex employment laws, tax regulations, and compliance requirements. Each country has different labor laws, and non-compliance can result in legal issues.
How to Overcome?
Here are a few strategies to mitigate these legal issues remote hiring challenge:
- Understanding Taxes: Research international tax obligations and engage tax professionals to ensure compliance with local and cross-border tax laws.
- Inclusive Contract: Draft comprehensive contracts outlining roles, responsibilities, and legal protections, ensuring they comply with local labor laws and international standards.
- Remitting Payments: Utilize reliable payment platforms to facilitate timely, compliant transactions while addressing currency conversion and tax withholding in contracts.
- Addressing Harassment: Implement a clear anti-harassment policy with reporting mechanisms, ensuring compliance with applicable laws to foster a safe work environment.
Remote Hiring Challenge 7 - Data Security & Privacy
Data security and privacy challenges in remote hiring refer to the risks associated with protecting sensitive information, such as
- Personal employee data,
- Proprietary company information,
and client data, during the hiring process and throughout the employment of remote developers. Data security and privacy include ransomware, Weak Passwords, and Open Wi-Fi.
Causes of this Challenge
Here are four causes of this remote hiring challenge:
- Increased Exposure: Remote work often requires access to sensitive data from various locations, increasing vulnerability to cyberattacks and data breaches.
- Inconsistent Security Practices: Different remote developers may use varying security measures, leading to inconsistent protection levels for sensitive information.
- Third-Party Tools: Using third-party hiring platforms and communication tools can introduce additional risks if those services do not have robust security protocols.
- Lack of Awareness: Remote workers may need to be aware of data protection best practices, leading to unintentional data leaks or breaches.
How to Overcome?
Here are a few strategies you can follow to overcome this challenge when hiring remote software engineers:
- Implement Strong Security Protocols: Establish and enforce comprehensive data security policies, including vital password requirements, two-factor authentication, and regular security audits.
- Use Secure Hiring Platforms: To protect sensitive information, choose reputable hiring and collaboration tools with built-in security features and data encryption.
- Provide Security Training: Offer training sessions for remote employees on data privacy, cybersecurity best practices, and the importance of safeguarding sensitive information.
- Conduct Background Checks: Thoroughly check remote developers to ensure they have a history of responsible data handling and adherence to privacy standards.
- Limit Data Access: Implement role-based access controls to ensure remote workers have access only to the information necessary for their job functions.
Reasons to Go For Remote Hiring
Here are the top five reasons to consider remote hiring for developers:
- Access to a Global Talent Pool: Remote hiring allows you to tap into a diverse range of skills and expertise worldwide, enabling you to find the perfect developer for your specific needs without geographical limitations.
- Cost-Effectiveness: Due to differences in living costs, hiring remote developers can often be more affordable than hiring local talent. It allows you to maximize your budget while still ensuring high-quality work.
- Increased Flexibility and Productivity: Remote work offers flexible work hours and environments, increasing productivity as developers can work during their most productive times and create a comfortable workspace.
- Scalability and Adaptability: Remote teams can be quickly scaled up or down based on project requirements. It will allow your business to adapt swiftly to changing needs without the long-term commitment of local hires.
- Enhanced Employee Satisfaction and Retention: Remote work often leads to better work-life balance for developers. It results in higher job satisfaction and lower turnover rates. This ultimately saves your organization time and resources in hiring and training new staff.
Contact VLink to Resolve Remote Hiring Challenges!
At VLink, we specialize in overcoming remote hiring challenges by offering pre-vetted remote developers with top-notch skills. With fast onboarding within 48 hours, a 7-day risk-free trial, and flexible hiring models, we ensure you can confidently hire.
Our experienced developers work in your local time zone, helping you avoid issues like time zone differences and productivity concerns. Contact us today to streamline your remote hiring process!
Frequently Asked Questions
We provide access to the top 3% of pre-screened remote developers with expertise across various technologies. Contact us to get started with fast onboarding and a 7-day risk-free trial.
You can hire dedicated remote developers through VLink by choosing from flexible hiring models, including full-time, part-time, or project-based options.
VLink offers the best remote developers with proven expertise, fast onboarding within 48 hours, low churn rates, and adherence to your time zone and project needs.